One Last Appeal
by 00 Serenity 00
Summary: While fighting each other, Sasuke and Naruto are transported to a peculiar place. Without knowing when or if they will return, they need to cooperate in order to survive. However, they soon begin thinking this world is a little too perfect.
1. Part One :: Midnight Rendezvous

Warning: Some out of character-ness might occur, but I generally call that character development.

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><p><strong>O<strong>ne **L**ast **A**ppeal

||-||Part One||-||

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><p>• Midnight Rendevous •<p>

Naruto stared down at the piece of paper, emotions inside whirling like mad. He wasn't sure how to react nor was he sure how others would take it. It had been a couple years, with chance encounters and distant words exchanged, but never something such as this.

Who the hell sent out a challenge request anymore?

He sighed. Sasuke _had_ always been someone who liked the more traditional things, after all. At least, that's how Naruto always saw it.

Now he wondered if he should tell anyone about it. Sasuke had left the village, joined Orochimaru, _killed_ Orochimaru, and was now parading around with the Akatsuki. Even more recently, he had been head bent in destroying Konoha.

No, he should definitely not tell anyone.

The letter stated, simply, that if he wanted a chance to save the village, Sasuke would meet him 30km west of Konoha. He actually specified 30 kilometers.

Naruto huffed, trying to do the math in his head. Why couldn't he have just picked a landmark?

As he folded the piece of paper, he began to walk in the direction of Ichiraku's ramen stand. What was the point in fighting on an empty stomach? Plus, he needed to prepare. And that would come after lunch.

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><p>With a sliver of the moon for his only source of light, Naruto squinted at his map. He could sort of make out his squiggly line, marking what should probably be the 30km Sasuke had mentioned.<p>

He had made sure that nobody noticed his absence. Team Seven had returned from a mission only a few days ago, so there wasn't any immediate need for his presence at the moment.

As he flew through the trees, he was going over the possibilities. It could be a trap, he knew that. But even if it were a trap, he figured he could get out of it easily. He hoped. Plus, he might actually be able to get a few punches on Sasuke.

And _THAT_ was motivation enough.

When he got close to his destination, he slowed down. He crept forward carefully, hoping that it really wasn't a trap and that he'd be able to beat the snot out of his friend. And yes, he still considered Sasuke one of his closest friends.

Peering around a tree, Naruto saw a clearing up ahead. Lounging on a boulder, as if nothing could go wrong with the world, was the dark haired guy himself.

As soon as he walked forward, somebody else spoke up.

"And here's your chance, Sasuke," Tobi, otherwise known as Madara, stated. "Prove yourself. Naruto is here."

Blue eyes met black ones, one showing a strong emotion, the other one void of any.

Sasuke stood up casually, as if this fight they were about to have was a chore, something annoying to take care of, yet easy to do.

"So this is what you wanted," Naruto said, anger staining his tone. "The Kyuubi."

"What else would there be?" Sasuke said, his own tone lazy.

The blonde grit his teeth, forcing back angry remarks. It wasn't the time. Right now, he needed to focus on knocking Sasuke out, tying him up, and dragging him by his feet back to Konoha. It _was_ 30km to the east, after all.

Being his usual self, Naruto attacked first, directly. Sasuke blocked it, turning his stance into a defensive one. Naruto wasn't going to have any of that.

"How are you going to get the stupid fox if you don't fight back?" Naruto snarled sarcastically.

Sasuke frowned ever so slightly.

After several punches, kicks, blocks, and weapons thrown, they both were beginning to feel the need to do something that gave a little more damage. Something flashy and, well, literally glowing.

Just like their previous battles, they charged at each other with their newer, improved versions of the chidori and rasengan.

Right before they would make contact, however, Madara decided to try out a new jutsu he had been itching to use. He had called them both here for just that, and now, before they made too much noise and attracted all sorts of attention, it was the perfect time.

Everything around the two boys seemed to warp and become unfocused. In a few seconds, they had been sucked right into where Madara's eye was.

In the time it had taken to warp them, he had realized something had gone wrong at the last moment.

He didn't sense their presence in the area that he had wanted to move them, nor were they standing before him.

The night was very quiet, just as if all the animals had gone to sleep as well.

"Crap," he said, his voice clearly heard through the air.

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><p>I've finally gone and done it. I've started a Sasuke and Naruto story :D<p>

This is based off of a game that I am obsessed with, so if you see any similarities (with future parts, it hasn't gotten there yet), then that would be why.

Hope you liked it :)

Jen


	2. Part Two :: Convenient People

Warning: Some out of character-ness might occur, but I generally call that character development.

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><p><strong>O<strong>ne **L**ast **A**ppeal

||-||Part Two||-||

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><p>• Convenient People •<p>

When Naruto and Sasuke collided, nothing particularly interesting happened. Well, their heads knocked together violently, but the sparkling and the glowing that had taken over their hands had disappeared: the rasengan and chidori had faded.

Confused, they both jumped back, ready to fight again. However, no matter how much they tried, neither could conjure up their attacks. Their chakra wasn't accessible, they realized with a start.

"What the heck did that guy do?" Naruto asked, frustrated as he continued in vain to pull out some chakra. He was even feeling around for the Kyuubi's, if he could.

Sasuke was silent, staring at his own hand.

"Damn it!" Naruto cursed, glaring to his left. His clone had disappeared, but it was a waste of energy to form the hand signs if he couldn't even feel his chakra.

"Shut up," Sasuke said, trying to concentrate. He was familiar with the basic gist of Madara's time-dimensional-warp-technique-things, but he had never been transported without chakra.

"No!" Naruto shouted defiantly. "It's all your fault anyways! So why should I shut up?"

The raven-haired boy pinched the bridge of his nose; he was beginning to get a headache. "We were moved through time and space, probably. And if you don't shut up, people might hear and attack. Without chakra, we can't do anything."

Naruto huffed. "Maybe you can't, but I can at least throw in a few good punches," he said.

Irritated, Sasuke looked around some more. The trees were far apart, even scarce in some areas. It didn't seem like a forest, but rather like trees that had survived the construction of a village. Normally, Madara would show up within minutes of transporting Sasuke. His absence was a cause for concern.

Without a word, Sasuke started to walk in a direction he had thought would take him to the potential village.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Naruto asked, jogging to catch up with him.

Sasuke glanced at him. In an unknown place without chakra, he could probably use all the help he could get. He wasn't sure if they were in enemy territory, if the people living there had chakra, or if they knew who they were. If they did have chakra, what would they do if they attacked?

"I'm going to see if I can find a village," he replied.

"Oh," Naruto said, suddenly understanding. "Where there are people, there's information!"

Sasuke ignored the blonde's slow thought process. He also reasoned that if they were attacked, Naruto would fight alongside him.

The short walk was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Naruto had figured he could trust the other boy—for now, at least. He had seemed just about as confused as him, even though his face didn't show much. The strain they had both felt whenever they were together was slowly loosening. Whenever they had confronted each other, it hadn't been for very long, nor were they forced to team up like this.

After walking down a slope, they found a road. Taking a guess, they went to the left. When they came upon the village name, they were relieved, though a bit more confused.

"Coral Brook," Naruto read aloud. "It sounds kind of weird."

Sasuke didn't say anything, but the way his mouth was set told him that he agreed.

They trudged on for about fifteen minutes before they started seeing houses. They weren't the types of houses they were used to seeing, however. They had metal things with wheels sitting out front and some had enormous windows that allowed anyone to see in.

"Hey Sasuke, I don't think we're in Konoha anymore," Naruto whispered, eying somebody who was standing in front of an open mailbox.

Of course, he hadn't meant just Konoha. He meant the entire land or continent they were from, anything concerning ninjas. And Sasuke understood that.

The further they walked, the closer the houses were to each other. There were even larger buildings, probably something government-like, just as they had the building where the Hokage's office was held.

The people that passed by seemed friendly enough. They would glance at Sasuke and Naruto, though, as if happily surprised to see new faces.

"Are you new here?"

Sasuke turned his head to see a chubby, middle-aged man squinting at them through thick-rimmed glasses. His brown suit looked well-used, as did his suitcase.

"What's it to you?" he asked.

Naruto frowned at his friend. "Yes, we are," he said, trying to make them seem less unfriendly.

Not at all bothered by Sasuke's blunt hostility, the man smiled. "Then I stopped the right people," he said. "You probably don't know the ways of this city, so if you will allow me to, I will gladly explain it to you."

Sasuke was immediately suspicious. They had been transported to this weird place, both confused, and here this person pops up with all the answers. A little too convenient, it seemed like.

"Sure!" Naruto said happily.

Sasuke could have punched him.

The man looked thrilled. "My name is Stan," he said, holding out a hand to the blonde. "And what would be yours?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" he said, gripping his hand.

"Ah, from Asia!" he said. "Here, you give your first name first."

Naruto blinked. "So…I'm Naruto Uzumaki," he said, accidentally making is sound something like a question. The order of the words felt off in his mouth.

"Correct," Stan said and turned to Sasuke. Again, he held out a hand.

He stared at it. "Sasuke Uchiha," he said. The man hadn't shown any reaction to Naruto's; he was hoping he wouldn't show any to his either.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed, not minding the fact he did not shake his hand. "Now, if you two could come with me, please. It's a little bothersome to explain all this while standing up. I can show you to a little spot I frequent. My treat, of course."

From the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw Naruto perk up. This probably meant food, and the idiot was always hungry, he remembered. But for some reason, he doubted they would serve ramen.

It was a little café that had the option of eating inside or outside. Small candles in bowls were set in the middle of each table. Stan went inside to order for all three of them while they took a seat.

"Do you think we can trust this guy?" Sasuke asked as soon as the doors had shut behind him.

Naruto stared at him. He had just grouped them together, making it clear that he believed they would stick it out _together_. His opinions on Sasuke were wavering; he felt as though he had gotten a rare chance to hang out with him as he had before.

"We can at least hear what he has to say," Naruto said, shrugging. "It's not like we have much choice. I mean, I guess we could camp out in the woods and live off fish and other woodland creatures until hopefully, maybe, that bastard fixes this."

And they didn't know how long that would take, Sasuke mused. He didn't get a chance to think about it much further as the tinkling of a bell signaled Stan's return.

"They didn't have ramen, so I got us all spaghetti," he said, carrying a small tray with three plates and drinks.

The moment Sasuke took a bite, he knew. Trying to be discreet, he asked, "So what's on this?"

"Tomato sauce," the man replied, twirling the noodles on his fork.

And Sasuke was in love.

Naruto was a little upset that they didn't have ramen, but at least this stuff tasted pretty good.

When they had finished their meals, Stan stacked their plates on the ground to make more room on the table.

"Okay," he said, pulling up his briefcase. "In this city, everyone gets money to start off with. It doesn't matter who you are or what you've done, so long as you are new to the city, you get a budget. Of course, there's differences if you're married or have kids or whatnot, but it still means the same thing."

"What do you mean about married or having kids?" Naruto asked.

"If you're married and or have kids, you get more money to start off with," he answered. "Sounds fair, no? If you live alone, you don't need as much space. Now, this budget is normally used to buy a house. Once you buy a house, though, you still have bills to take care of. You can get a job to pay for that. Does that make sense?"

They both thought it over. Free money sounded absurdly weird.

"Why the free money?" Naruto asked. Of course, he was asking all the questions. Sasuke knew he would before he would speak, so he let him.

At this, Stan sighed. "This city is actually looking for a bigger population. What's a better way than offering free starter money?" he said. "And luckily for you two, I happen to be a real estate broker. I am able to set you up with a house by the end of the day!"

This time, Sasuke had a question. "And this money is free with no strings attached. We don't have to pay it back?" he asked.

"Nope," Stan said cheerfully. "Now, you two are still teenagers, so you will need to attend school."

Both looked up sharply. "But we've already attended school!" they both exclaimed in protest.

"It's the way of this city," he said, shrugging. "Until you've met all the requirements for graduation, you need to attend school. And this means you can't have any full-time work, since you need to be in school during full-time work hours."

They were both silent, thinking about this. School again did not sound pleasant.

Much to Naruto's surprise, Sasuke said, "Sounds fair. Now do we each get a certain amount of money?"

"Yes," Stan said. "But to be honest, it isn't a whole lot. It would make more sense to live together with a joint bank account unless you want to be desperately trying to pay bills _and_ buy food."

"And furniture," Naruto added, knowing a lot from living in an apartment.

"If you can afford it, the houses come furnished," Stan said. "And, of course, you can buy or replace furniture later, if you wanted. You can also add to the house, even, if you find the house to be too small and if you can afford it."

The two boys let his words sink in.

Sasuke was reluctant to take his deal—the city's deal, actually—but he had to admit it sounded tempting. The only thing he didn't like was having to share a place with the idiot, even though the man's words made sense. Then again, he reasoned, he could always move out when he had enough money. Or Madara would make an entrance and get them out of this place.

Naruto was torn between emotions with the idea of living with Sasuke. On one hand, the two hadn't seen each other for years and there was the fact that Sasuke probably hated his guts. On the other hand, he knew too well how it felt to live on his own, with nobody to come home to.

"How do we get started?" they asked, voices in sync.

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><p>After a while, I think the game I based this on will become pretty obvious to those who have played it XD<p>

Hope you liked it! :D

Jen


	3. Part Three :: House Hunting

Warning: Some out of character-ness might occur, but I generally call that character development.

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><p><strong>O<strong>ne **L**ast **A**ppeal

||-||Part Three||-||

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><p>• House Hunting •<p>

Stan pulled his suitcase up on the table. From it, he took out a stack of paper. "Now what exactly are you looking for, in a home?" he asked.

"Two rooms," Sasuke said immediately.

Naruto shot him a look. "At least partially furnished," he said. "And a refrigerator."

The man was flipping through the paper, pulling some out at random. "Anything else?" he asked.

They sort of looked at each other, as if staring at the other would make them think of something new.

"Nope," Naruto said.

"Nothing I can think of," Sasuke replied. His attitude was still cold and stiff.

"Good, that's narrowed it down quite a bit anyways," Stan said, stuffing the rest of the paper back in his suitcase. "I have some floor plans for you to look at. Now, before we begin, I need to go over some numbers with you. Basically, you each get nine thousand. Together, that makes eighteen thousand, which is definitely the amount you need."

Naruto nodded while Sasuke remained impassive.

"So I've pulled some floor plans that meet this requirement, and I've separated the ones that have what you're looking for," he said. There weren't very many.

The only two bedroom house available barely met their price range unfurnished. The other ones looked much more likely. Sasuke did not like this.

"Would you like to see them?" Stan asked when he didn't get a response from the two boys.

Naruto opened his mouth to agree, but Sasuke interrupted. "We need to talk about this," he said and stood up. Without waiting for Naruto, he walked around the corner, out of sight.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked, frowning.

"Do we really need a house?" Sasuke asked.

"Just because you wanna live out your life in a forest doesn't mean I want to," he said, glaring. "Who knows how long we'll have to stay here! What happens if we're stuck here forever? We might as well get comfortable."

He had a valid point—for once. Hadn't he always been an idiot? Sasuke did not like admitting it, not that he would out loud, but it seemed like Naruto wasn't entirely the same idiot ninja he had left all those years ago.

Without a word, he turned and walked back to the table, where Stan was waiting patiently.

With a little reluctance, Sasuke said, "We have a list. Can we see them?"

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><p>After several arguments, they finally decided on one house they both could deal with. The arguing wasn't heated, not at all. At least, not on Sasuke's part. If Naruto would say something, the dark-haired boy would go against it with mild interest, causing the blonde to overreact in a very <em>loud<em> way.

The first house wasn't classy enough, it looked more like it belonged in a movie about gang fights. Sasuke wanted a house that looked decent, something normal. Naruto just wanted something they could afford.

So the house that met Sasuke's standards and Naruto's optimistic approval was a two-story, red-bricked building with a clean atmosphere. It wasn't too far away from the inner part of the village, so they'd be able to get around without transportation.

It had only one bedroom and two pieces of furniture.

Stan clapped his hands merrily. Then again, he always seemed rather chipper. "Now that it's all settled, we just need to fill out some forms," he said.

"Forms?" Naruto asked, feeling a sense of dread settle in his stomach.

"Nothing much, just to fill out your name, date of birth, things like that," he said. "Let's go to the park, though. They have tables and the weather is wonderful today."

_Things like that_ didn't quite cover it enough, however. They were required to answer questions such as favorite foods (which Sasuke promptly refused to answer and Naruto scribbled down ramen), musical tastes, colors they liked, and eventually a question that stumped both of them.

"Why do we need to pick five traits?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, you're there already?" Stan asked, leaning forward. He had been sitting back in his chair, watching some people around the park. Most who had come were families. "Well, it gives you a list, so you can't really stray from it. But what you do is choose the five that you believe most strongly represent you. Such as, if you had to sum yourself up in five words."

Sasuke made an annoyed noise while Naruto's eyes scanned down the list.

"And you can write down a list for yourself before choosing them," the man said, digging around in his briefcase for some spare paper for them to write on. "So you can eliminate some and so forth."

As each were writing down what they guessed they'd be described as, Naruto couldn't help but snicker.

"You should put down Grumpy," he said.

Sasuke ignored him.

"And Mean-spirited," the blonde continued.

The dark-haired boy smirked. "Easily-impressed," he muttered.

Naruto looked offended. "Snob."

"Excitable."

"Neurotic."

"Loser."

Naruto frowned. "Unflirty," he said. "You completely ignore Sakura's feelings."

Sasuke glanced at him. "Hopeless Romantic," he said, continuing to write out his list. "It seems like she has yet to return yours."

He grit his teeth. "How about Commitment Issues?" he asked sarcastically. "You know, breaking away from the Leaf and joining evil organizations and whatnot."

"Then you can have Hot-headed, for getting upset over something as trivial as that," Sasuke responded. "And Over-emotional. It's a wonder you ever managed to complete school with your easy-to-read face."

"How is that trivial?" Naruto exclaimed, shooting up from his chair.

This was the biggest reason Sasuke had not wanted to live with him. It had seemed like Naruto was holding himself back, making sure they didn't get into a fight about the most annoying topic ever. For that, Sasuke was slightly grateful. But now it was as if he couldn't hold it any longer.

Sasuke ignored the blonde, instead deciding on his five traits. Naruto settled down easily enough, but he could see that this conversation was far from over.

In the end, Sasuke had put down Ambitious, Genius, Loner, Family-Oriented, and—before he could do anything—Naruto added Rebellious. The dark-haired boy stared at the word for a moment before leaving it there. It was true: he _had_ been rebellious, especially concerning anything resembling ninja law.

Naruto had put down Charismatic, Friendly, Green-Thumb, Rebellious, and, while he was contemplating his last one, Sasuke swiftly chose Childish for him. A glare was sent in the Uchiha's direction, but the word remained.

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><p>Moving in was very easy. Having only the clothes on their backs and the weapons in their pouches, they simply signed an agreement to pay their bills on time and walked into their new home.<p>

Sasuke began to walk through the house carefully, making sure nothing was wrong. That was his excuse, anyways. In reality, he was making sure the house wasn't bugged. Everything had gone over a little too smoothly.

Naruto was bouncing through the house excitedly, despite the lack of furniture. Anything that wasn't broken probably would be if the blonde kept it up, Sasuke surmised.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, his voice echoing slightly off the bare walls. Instead of asking his question automatically, he waited to see if his friend would respond.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had been waiting for Naruto to continue. "What?" he asked when he hadn't.

"I get dibs on the bed," Naruto called out mockingly, like a child, before running towards the bedroom.

Frowning, he hurried along his pace, but not quite running. His old self would have ran at the taunt, but _he_ wouldn't.

Upon entering, Sasuke saw that Naruto had already taken the opportunity to sprawl over the bed. It was king-sized so it could easily accommodate two bodies, so Naruto was lying diagonally across it, arms and legs spread out.

"Idiot," Sasuke scoffed. Before Stan had left, he had explained to them how ordering from a catalog worked. Almost immediately, Sasuke had ordered a twin-sized bed, but it would take time to arrive.

Naruto propped himself up with his arms and looked at him. "We can share, you know," he said. "It's like two twin mattresses pushed together, so there's lots of room."

"No."

His quick denial made the other frown.

"It's just a bed," Naruto replied. "And not forever."

Sasuke still refused. Eventually Naruto won the bed because Sasuke refused to share. Instead, he took one of the pillows and the flat sheet out in the hallway. He slept right against the carpeted floor, the thin sheet as his blanket.

Sometime during the night, Naruto started fidgeting. He felt bad even though it was because of his friend's stupid stubbornness. Trying to be quiet, he opened the door slowly and crept up on the huddled form of Sasuke.

As he was reaching over him, a hand shot out and gripped his throat. It was cold.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto shoved the hand off of him with a little effort. "Bringing you to bed, stupid," he said, trying again to pick the boy up.

Sasuke gave him a blank stare. "There's no need," he said, turning his head back to his pillow.

Naruto growled and grabbed the sheet. In an attempt to be quick, he forcefully tucked it around the raven-haired boy before lifting him up.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, though his limbs had trouble moving. In spite, he did the only thing he could really do to inflict pain. He sank his teeth into Naruto's shoulder.

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed, dumping the other boy onto the bed. "Just go to sleep! It's more comfortable on an actual bed than against a scratchy carpet!"

Feeling like he had been made fun of, Sasuke slid over to the edge of the bed, but didn't leave. In minutes, he was asleep again.

Naruto let out a breath of relief. Squinting at Sasuke in the dark, he frowned. If he wasn't mistaken, Sasuke had either been asleep or halfway there the whole time. Shrugging it off, he settled down on his side, hoping for blissful sleep to come at last.

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><p>I've never really seen Sasuke sleep, so...I thought this would be fun :D<p>

Hope you like the direction this is taking :)

Jen


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